Module 7:Module 7:

The 3 T’s: Transportation, The 3 T’s: Transportation,

TracebackTraceback and and TraceforwardTraceforwardDiane Ducharme

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Diane Ducharme

N.C. State University, N.C. Research Campus

N.C. MarketReady

Andrew Kennedy

FoodLogiQ (President)

www.ncmarketready.org

Learners’ Objectives

• Participants will be able to appraise safety conditions during loading, unloading and inspecting of fresh produce in transport.

• Participants will be able to demonstrate knowledge of a traceability system.knowledge of a traceability system.

• Participants will understand procedures to conduct rapid and effective removal of foods from the marketplace (Recall).

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Transportation Topics

• Plan the load

• Cross-contamination

• Transporter guidance• Transporter guidance

• Load compatibility

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Why Is This Subject Important?

• Important part of the food chain – it involves moving produce from field to cooler, packing facility or other distribution terminal market.distribution terminal market.

• Essential because the pre-transit handling of perishable commodities dictates the product’s quality and shelf life AFTER transport.

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During Transportation…

• Cross-contamination from other food or non-

food sources is the biggest concern.

• Potential for more exposure to contaminated

surfaces during loading, unloading, storage

and other necessary operations.

• Shipping (loading) and

receiving (unloading).

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Photo courtesy of http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/filelibrary/6123/40400.jpg

and http://barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu/lettuce-skull(2).jpg

Plan the Load--Four Areas

• Packing house visual inspection

• Inspect transport

• Check load compatibility

• Check Reefer temperature and • Check Reefer temperature and

loading

6Picture Courtesy of Trevor Suslow

Preventing Cross-contamination

Items to consider:

• Limiting access from field to catwalks/packing

house?

• Making the product flow linear from field to

transport?transport?

• Container/Bin tote cleaning and sanitation?

• Issues of backhauling?

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Review of the Packing House

• Containers or Bins

– Should be cleaned and sanitized periodically.

– Reusable bins should be made of materials easy to clean.

– Bins will be inspected for damage; either repaired or replaced.

• Pallets

– Pallets should be in good condition/free of loose pieces and debris.– Pallets should be in good condition/free of loose pieces and debris.

– Damaged pallets should be repaired or discarded.

• Packing House

– Should be clean, free of debris and personal belongings.

– Employees and visitors should be free of jewelry and practicing good

hygiene practices.

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Checking Out Your Transporter

Outside …

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Photos from CFSAN “Inspecting Incoming Materials” website http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/insp-1.html

… and inside

Check the Trailer

• Do not load a damaged trailer.

• Check records on previous hauling

loads/backhauling issues.

• Pre-cool trailer to required temperature.• Pre-cool trailer to required temperature.

• Check seals on trailers and other tamper

evidence tools?

• Complete checklist.

• Keep chart of F and C handy!

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Cleanliness and SanitationCleanliness and SanitationCleanliness and SanitationCleanliness and Sanitationinside, outside and air distributioninside, outside and air distributioninside, outside and air distributioninside, outside and air distribution

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Proper Cleaner Selection and Disinfection

• Pre-rinse/pre-clean

• Adequate contact time

• Proper cleaner selection

• Adequate mechanical disinfection

– 6-8 gpm; 650-850 psi; 130-150oF– Clean water rinse; 60-80 psi; 130-150oF

• Cleaning air distribution system

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Load Compatibility

• Ethylene producers

• Temperature storage

• Travel distances

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Ethylene Production

• A natural gas

• A natural hormone produced by some

fruits as they ripen, ethylene promotes

additional ripening of produce exposed to

it.

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Ethylene “Producers”

• Should not be stored with fruits, vegetables or flowers that are sensitive to it.

– Causes loss of quality, reduced shelf life and specific symptoms of injury.

• Examples of ethylene effects:• Examples of ethylene effects:

– increased ripening and softening of mature

green tomatoes.

– Symptoms resulting from putting bananas or

avocados in a brown paper bag.

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Pre-cool Requirements?

• Know if product needs pre-cooling.

• Warm up in transport during the summer

months.

• Know the damaging freezing temperature.• Know the damaging freezing temperature.

• Icing produce:

– Make sure water, handling and storage of ice is

in proper order.

– Make sure water used for ice making is

potable, food grade.

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•Temperate commodities Temperate commodities Temperate commodities Temperate commodities should ideally be should ideally be should ideally be should ideally be

Postharvest Golden Postharvest Golden Postharvest Golden Postharvest Golden Rule: Cool it Fast and Rule: Cool it Fast and Rule: Cool it Fast and Rule: Cool it Fast and

Keep it Cool!Keep it Cool!Keep it Cool!Keep it Cool!

should ideally be should ideally be should ideally be should ideally be transported/stored at transported/stored at transported/stored at transported/stored at 32323232°F to 38F to 38F to 38F to 38°F (0F (0F (0F (0°C to 3C to 3C to 3C to 3°C).C).C).C).

• “Cold Chain” “Cold Chain” “Cold Chain” “Cold Chain”

17Courtesy of Patrick Brecht and American President Lines

Recording ThermometersRecording ThermometersRecording ThermometersRecording Thermometers• Usually placed to measure discharge air

temperature.– Microprocessors

• Provide documentation of refrigeration • Provide documentation of refrigeration (“reefer”) unit performance.

• Newer types have probes to record product temperatures, too.

• Calibrate the temperature sensors!

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Loading the Reefer

• BMP is centerline loading.

– Load away from the walls.

• Top rear boxes have most damage.

– Look at load spaces! – Look at load spaces!

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Receiving a Load

• Inspect the transport vehicle.

• Check the load.

• Look for evidence of insects/rodents/ bird

activity.activity.

• Take random samples of food containers.

• Document with an Incoming Inspection

Report.

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Authority for Sanitary Food

Transportation Practices

• 2005 Sanitary Food Transportation Act

– Amends the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic

Act (FDCA) 402.Act (FDCA) 402.

– Shifts authority from Dept. of Transportation

to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

– As of 2008, no rules have been developed.

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Recommendations

• Set lowest acceptable temperatures for each commodity carried (heats up in transport).

• Use recording thermometers with probes to monitor product temperature.

• Maintain records of reefer performance and maintenance.

• Maintain records of reefer performance and maintenance.

• Regularly inspect and sanitize trucks and containers.

• Maintain records of prior cargoes and equipment cleaning.

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Traceback and

Traceforward

Topics

• Why are they important?

• Intertwining of existing laws• Intertwining of existing laws

• Components of traceability

• Defining a system

• Recall

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Or………One step back

One step forward

• “Who/Where did I get it from and Who/Where

is it going.”

• A traceback investigation is the method used

to determine and document the distribution to determine and document the distribution

and production chain, and the source(s) of a

product that has been implicated in a food-

borne illness investigation, quickly and

accurately.

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More info on 21 CFR part 1, subpart J: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm

Why Is This Documentation

Important?

• Quickly & accurately = locate foods in the

distribution system

• Quickly & accurately = prevent illnesses and

possible deathspossible deaths

• Quickly & accurately = allow for integration of

other existing program requirements

• Quickly & accurately = less economic impact to

growers

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The Consumer Speaks….

• Food scares erode confidence in food safety.– 46 percent worry about getting sick from food.

– 52 percent have only some or little confidence in the food inspection system.

• Consumers support traceability solutions.– 86 percent support labeling produce so it can be

tracked.

– 80 percent support federal safety standards for produce.

– 92 percent support COOL.

Sources: AP-Ipsos poll July 18, 2008; Harvard School of Public Health poll June 12, 2008; Consumers

Reports survey July 10, 2007.

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Country Of Origin Labeling

• Or COOL

• 2008 Farm Bill extended to:

– Beef, pork, lamb, goat, chicken, fresh/frozen

fruit & vegetables, peanut, pecan, ginseng and

macadamia nuts.macadamia nuts.

• COOL information includes:

– Producer affidavits

– Purchasing/receiving records

– Production/harvest records.

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Bioterrorism Act (2002)

Sets forth the establishment and maintenance

of records for persons who manufacture,

process, pack, transport, distribute, receive,

hold or import food in the U.S. (21CFR part 1,

subpart J). subpart J).

“Generally, everybody in the supply chain

must be able to trace one step back and one

step forward.”

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Traceback Components• A documented traceback program has been

established.

• Finished product is traceable to:

– the packing house

– a group of growers/the specific grower

– a group of orchards or fields/to the specific orchard or – a group of orchards or fields/to the specific orchard or

field.

– a group of harvest dates/a specific harvest date

– a packing date.

• The operation has performed a “mock recall” that

was proven to be effective.

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Internal + External =

Whole-Chain Traceability

• Internal = confidential or proprietary data

and processes companies use within their

own span of operations to track/trace

product (e.g. packer).product (e.g. packer).

• External = the data exchange and business

processes that take place between trading

partners to track/trace product (grower =>

packer => retailer).

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Three Pillars of Traceability

Movement Event

Relies on efficient data collection,

Records change of premises

Product ID

Product ID

Events

Premises ID

Premises ID

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Product ID

Associates a unique tag number to a

unit, case or pallet

Premises ID

Unique number for a physical location,

Renew annually for data integrity

Define a System• Grower

– Uniquely identify all growers in a value chain

–Machine readable (barcode or RFID)

– And human readable (growers name, address)

• Specific Field Location (Premises ID)

– Coordinates (get a map of your fields online)– Coordinates (get a map of your fields online)

– Use the Farm Service Agency numbers

• Assign a Product ID for each commodity

• Identify each picker or group of pickers

• Date of harvest (and time of day)

• Date of pack

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Define a System (cont’d)

– Movement codes (harvest, pack, ship…)

– Receipt date

– Ship date

– Personnel health records linkage – Personnel health records linkage

• Documentation for fresh produce needs to

be kept for at least one year.

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Continuing with a Systematic Linkage…

• Based on information like the field number

and date.

• These can be linked to:

– Pesticide records

– Notes on unusual events (flooding, foul/wildlife

damage, etc.)

– Personnel health/hygiene records. (Needed information if you are to go into a Recall situation.)

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Initiating a Standardization for

Traceability

• Produce Traceability Initiative

October 8, 2007

– Produce Marketing Association (PMA)

– Canadian Produce Marketing Association – Canadian Produce Marketing Association

(CPMA)

– United Fresh Produce Association (UFPA)

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http://www.cpma.ca/pdf/IndustryTech/CPMA_PMA_Traceability_Guide_to_Implementation_Oct_2006.pdf

• Obtain Company Prefix for growers, packers and repackers.

Q1 2009

• Assign GTIN Numbers according to GTIN assignment strategy from associations

Q1 2009

• Provide GTIN Info to Buyers for use in scanning and retail POS systems

Q3 2009

• Unique identification of products (cases) from the farm (first packer).

• If product is repacked, linkage of incoming case code to new outgoing code.

• Capturing and storing of data by every receiver all along the supply chain.

Produce Traceability Initiative

Q12009

Q1 2009

Q3 2009retail POS systems

Q3 2009

• Encode lot code info in a barcode and in human readable format on cases

Q3 2010

• Read & Store Info on Inbound cases2011

• Read & Store Info on Outbound Cases2012

chain.

• Final tracking outbound from DC to retail store, restaurant.

Q3 2009

Q3 2010

2011

2012

Industry Traceability

Implementing a traceability

system within a supply chain

requires all parties involved to

systematically link the

physical flow of materials and

products with the flow of

information about them.

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information about them.

Produce Traceability Initiative

provides a numbering

scheme, but it does not

provide the systems to

capture the data.

Technology already exists for tracing fruits and vegetables

throughout their supply chain history. Consumers see this

every time they shop.

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Locally purchased fruit with Price Look Up (PLU) labels attached.

Insert: A traceability bar code label containing the supply chain

history information compared to a PLU label on fresh fruit.

Let’s Try One …

Design a GTIN at Case Level

• 1st digit is the packaging indicator.

• 2nd digit in this GTIN is a ”0” for this example and

for simplicity.

• 3rd set of digits, 6-digit is the company prefix.• 3rd set of digits, 6-digit is the company prefix.

• 4th set of digits, 5 digits is for product reference

number.

• Last digit is a single digit “check digit.”

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Design a Package Code

STEP 1: Either put name on boxes or establish a two-digit code to identify the

grower. These numbers remain the same from year to year.

For example: LT Lester Tomatoes

12 A&B Packinghouse

STEP 2: Establish a system to indentify the specific fields. The system that the

Farm Service Agency uses can be applicable here, specifying the farm and

track number. track number.

For example: 4172T2 = Lester Farms, track 2

STEP 3: Establish a system to identify each worker. This system could be tied

to the fiscal management of workers also.

For example: 23 = Harvester Mark Jones

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Design a Package Code (cont’d)

STEP 4: Establish a calendar for the year.

For example: June 2 = 0602

STEP 5: This code should appear on every package containing produce from this shipment or batch.

Thus LT4172T223 0602 would mean:

First two digits = LT = grower.First two digits = LT = grower.

Second set of digits = 4172T2 = specific farm and field.

Third set of digits = 23 = worker number.

Last four digits = 0602 = indicate the date of harvest.

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Let’s look at

PLU’s

• PLU stickers

• Core Attributes

GTIN

Lot

#

- Commodity, variety, origin, grade, size, etc.

• Secondary Attributeshttp://www.unitedfresh.org/assets/files/GTIN%20Assignment%20Strate

gy%2041108.pdf

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Traceback on the Farm

• Produce Traceability Initiative system

designed to case level (First Packer).

• Important to have a system defined from

the farm level that identifiesthe farm level that identifies

– Grower

– Lot number (attached to harvested field)

– Harvest/Pack date.

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Traceback Investigation Conducted

1. to identify the source and distribution of the

implicated food and remove the contaminated

product from the marketplace.

2. to distinguish between two or more implicated

food products.food products.

3. to determine potential routes and/or sources of

contamination in order to prevent future

illnesses.

Source:http://www.fda.gov/ora/inspect_ref/igs/epigde/epigde_content.html#intro

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Agencies Involved in an

Investigation

• FDA Emergency Operations Center (EOC)

• CDC

• State health regulatory officials –• State health regulatory officials –

NCDA&CS, DENR

• Local health officials

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Mock Recall Topics

• Regulatory guidance

• What is a recall?

• Recall classifications• Recall classifications

• Next steps

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Regulatory Guidance

• 21 CFR Part 7, Subpart C: Recalls (Including

Product Corrections) – Guidelines on Policy,

Procedures and Industry Responsibility

http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_04/

21cfr7_04.html

• U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has

authority over most other foods.

• USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service

(USDA/FSIS) has authority over meat and poultry

products.

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Situations Prompting Recalls• Allergens

• Bacterial /chemical contamination

• Communicable disease

• Company-generated information

• Foreign objects

• Illnesses identified by State Health Dept. or CDC

• In-house sabotage• In-house sabotage

• Misbranding

• Packaging defects

• Real or fraudulent consumer claims

• Scientific reports

• Suppliers’ notification

• Tampering and tampering threats

• Undeclared ingredients

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What Is a Recall?

• Recalls are the procedures conducted to identify and

recover potentially adulterated, misbranded, and/or

hazardous foods from trade and/or consumer

channels effectively.

• Voluntary actions by manufacturers.

• FDA does have the authority to seize adulterated • FDA does have the authority to seize adulterated

products or to acquire an injunction against

distribution or may initiate recall process by

informing firm that an adulterated product in

commerce has been identified.

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Why Should I Care?

• An effective recall program will protect

company employees and brand names from

adverse legal, regulatory and publicity actions.

• “Natural” occurrences of food contamination

have been documented.have been documented.

– Prevention is far from 100% achievable.

• Preventing purposeful contamination.

• Part of an effective traceability program.

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Recall Classifications

• Numerical designation assigned by the FDA

to indicate the relative degree of health

hazard presented by the product

• Class 1 • Class 1

• Class II

• Class III

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Class I

• Class I is a situation in which there is a

reasonable probability that the use of, or

exposure to, a violative product will cause

serious adverse health consequences or

death.

• Examples of this are:

– Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, E. coli

O157:H7

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Class II

• Class II is a situation in which use of, or exposure to,

a violative product may cause temporary or

medically reversible adverse health consequences, or

where the probability of serious adverse health

consequences is remote.

– Hard/sharp foreign objects 7 to 25 mm– Hard/sharp foreign objects 7 to 25 mm

– Undeclared yellow 5 & 6

– Unapproved/uncertified colors

– Shigella, staph toxin

– Undeclared wheat

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Class III

• Class III is a situation in which use of, or

exposure to, a violative product is not likely to

cause adverse health consequences.

– Mold, yeast, lactobacillus

– Hard/sharp foreign objects less than 7 mm– Hard/sharp foreign objects less than 7 mm

– Off odor/off taste from contaminant at levels not

likely to pose a hazard to health

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Recall Worksheets

• Production dates

• Product names, labels, package sizes and types (Vac Pak, cartons)

• Amount produced / distributed• Amount produced / distributed

• Distribution level and locations

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Next Steps

• Develop a Food Safety Plan

• Sign-up for updates at

http://www.ncfreshproducesafety.org

• Work with local extension agents• Work with local extension agents

• Attend commodity-specific events

• Review the PMA/United Fresh “Produce

Traceability Initiative”

• Review any FDA crop-specific guidance

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Resources

• Improving the Safety and Quality of Fresh Fruits and

Vegetables: Good Manufacturing Practices for

Handling, Packing, Storage and Transportation of Fresh

Produce (Section III) Univ. of MD. 2002

• AFDO Product Recall Workshop, Cecilia Wolyniak, • AFDO Product Recall Workshop, Cecilia Wolyniak,

Recall Coordinator, FDA, CFSAN

http://www.afdo.org/afdo/training/Listeria-Recall-

Workshop-05.cfm

• The Food Recall Manual – Univ. of Florida – IFAS

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FS108

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Resources

• Traceback – Assigning Blame PPT – Dr. James

Rushing, Clemson University.

• Guide to Traceback of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

implicated in Epidemiological Investigations

http://www.fda.gov/ora/inspect_ref/igs/epigde/i

gs_epigde.pdfgs_epigde.pdf

• United Fresh Traceability Website

http://www.producetraceability.org/

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Resources

• CFSAn and ORA Farm Investigation Questionnaire

http://www.fda.gov/opacom/morechoices/fdafor

ms/FDA-3623_508.pdf

• Guide to Produce Farm Investigations

http://www.fda.gov/ora/inspect_ref/igs/farminveshttp://www.fda.gov/ora/inspect_ref/igs/farminves

tigation.html

• FDA Recalls, Market Withdrawals and Safety Alerts

http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html

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This project received funding from the N.C.

Tobacco Trust Fund Commission, Sustainable

Agriculture Research & Education (SARE)

and Risk Management Agency.

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